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Here we'll explore the nexus of legal rulings, Capitol Hill
policy-making, technical standards development, and technological
innovation that creates -- and will recreate -- the networked world as we
know it. Among the topics we'll touch on: intellectual property
conflicts, technical architecture and innovation, the evolution of
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July 31, 2012

Monopolism Is Not Limited to the Cartel

Posted by Alan Wexelblat

Nick Bilton blogs for the NY Times about Craigslist. It's generally a familiar story: the old established business protects itself by legal threats, unexpected API changes, and generally working to lock out competitors and innovators who want to build on and improve the basic service.

The difference here is that we're not talking about the typical Big Cartel Corporation; instead, this is Craigslist. Many of us have mental images of Craigslist as being small, local, homey. In fact that's how it started, but in the intervening years it has grown into a multi-million dollar business. Once in a while it hits the news, as happened when it was forced to shutter its adult services sections after charges arose that the ads there were thinly veiled covers for prostitution and human trafficking.

But despite these blips, the service has generally retained a genial and positive public image. Bilton argues that part of why Craigslist - which has generally grown old, creaky, and ripe for disruption - hasn't been surpassed is the large surplus of goodwill and beneficent image it maintains. People, even those whose attempts at building new services on Craigslist have been shuttered, don't seem willing to make a big deal of it nor attack the service publicly.

This can only go on so long before people notice and start losing their goodwill - remember when everyone thought Google really wasn't evil? As Fred said, Craigslist (which didn't comment for this story) is in the wrong here and needs to live up to its reputation, not down to its legal bottom line.